Doctor is called ‘Lord of the Earth’, but very few are able to make it meaningful. One such is Dr. Chetan Mehta, who in the last 25 years, through hard work and service to the patients, has transformed the Government Ayurvedic Dispensary of village Nijhra in Jalandhar district of Punjab. Now the dispensary has become an Ayush Wellness Center and the patients here are getting all the facilities free of cost.
Dr. Chetan tells that he took charge of the village dispensary in May 1999. The condition of the dispensary was so bad that water was dripping from the roof. Patients used to come here, but returned disappointed due to not getting the medicine. My mind was distressed. Then it was decided that every facility would be provided in the dispensary. Contacted the NRI families of the village and sought cooperation. The appeal bore fruit and the NRI Charitable Welfare Trust was formed in 2005. The trust started paying Rs 5,000 every month for medicines.
Punjab’s first Panchakarma center became: Dr. Chetan told that in 2006 he was sent to Jaipur to do MD Panchakarma.
The villagers took a promise that they would come back here. When he completed his PG in 2009, the health department put a lot of pressure on him to provide services at Panchakarma Center Mohali, but he rejected the government’s offer. Returned to the dispensary and established a Panchakarma center by spending two lakh rupees. This was the first center in Punjab where Panchakarma facility was available in the government dispensary. Now two workers are deployed in the dispensary, whose salaries are paid by the trust. Every day, patients suffering from spine, knee and joint pain come here from nearby districts including Jalandhar and Kapurthala to get treatment through Panchakarma.
Dengue cell count and digital x-ray unit : When dengue spread in the year 2012, people had to go to the city for investigation. On this, with the help of the Trust, three lakh rupees were spent and a dengue cell count unit was installed. Two years ago, a digital X-ray machine was installed by spending Rs 10 lakh. Along with MLA and MP funds, state and central schemes were also taken advantage of for the dispensary.